The killers of James Bulger have received almost £380,000 in public money to cover their legal costs since being jailed for the toddler’s murder 25 years ago.

Mirror Online reports Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were given hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal aid for various civil and criminal cases.

Last month, it was revealed that Venables had received almost £260,000 in legal aid - but the latest estimate of £119,152 for Thompson takes the pair’s combined legal fees up to nearly £380,000.

Venables’ legal fees were published as James’ dad Ralph Bulger spoke of his fury that the convicted killer got legal aid for a string of court cases – while the family got no help trying to keep him jailed.

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Ralph Bulger spoke out last month after Mirror Online revealed his son’s killer received £259,585 to pay for civil claims, judicial reviews and applications for new identities.

Jon Venables (Image: PA/PA Wire)

Thompson’s £120,000 legal fees included a bill of £39,472 for barristers in 1994 to challenge the 15-year jail sentence he and ­Venables were given for killing two-year-old James when they were both aged 10.

In 2000, Thompson, 35, brought an action for “breach of confidence”, with legal bills topping £25,000.

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Then, in 2001, his legal team were paid £25,011 to represent him in a ­judicial review, figures released under Freedom of Information laws reveal.

Robert Thompson

The payouts, which do not include the cost of the original trial, have ­infuriated James’s dad Ralph, who had a claim for legal aid blocked when he wanted to ­challenge a parole board decision to free the two killers.

A Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Justice revealed Venables first received almost £180,000 in state cash to challenge his 15-year sentence for murder set by then Home Secretary Michael Howard.